10/05/2026

theSunday Special VII ON SUNDAY MAY 10, 2026

Espresso fame Sabrina Carpenter in custom Dior made out of film strips of the movie Sabrina . along with NFL superstar Russell Wilson and several men's and women's basketball stars. Actress Blake Lively made a surprise appearance at the gala, just hours after she settled a major court case over her film It Ends with Us with her co-star and director Justin Baldoni. Of course, the entire evening was overseen by Vogue's global editorial director Anna Wintour – the ultimate tastemaker in US fashion who has helmed the event for 30 years. The gala is a fundraiser for the Met's Costume Institute, and this year raised a record US$42 million (RM166 million) (after US$31 million in 2025), the museum's CEO Max Hollein told reporters on Monday. This year’s exhibit juxtaposes elegant fashion looks with paintings and sculpture, think a Saint Laurent design next to Van Gogh’s Irises , or a John Galliano gown for Maison Margiela paired with an antique statue. “When I think about the show, if there’s one word to describe it, I suppose it would be equitability or equivalency, equivalency between artworks. So, there’s no hierarchy between sculpture, painting, fashion, photography and no hierarchy between bodies, between the classical body or the disabled body,” the Costume Institute’s curator Andrew Bolton told AFP. The Met Gala was first organised in 1948 and for decades was reserved for New York high society, until Wintour transformed the party into a high-profile catwalk for the rich and famous in the 1990s. The “Costume Art” exhibit, which opens today at the venerable museum in Manhattan, will seek to explore the “dressed body” in artworks across the centuries.

K-Pop Demon Hunters ’ Ejae in a Swarovski gown.

Diamonds singer Rihanna in Maison Margiela.

Blackpink’s Jisoo in Dior.

American actress Chase Sui Wonders in Alexander Mcqueen. – ALL PICS FROM GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP Donatella Versace, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney, Anthony Vaccarello and Haider Ackermann were among the many fashion designers among entertainment industry luminaries. Olympic gold medalists Alysa Liu and Eileen Gu – whose dress had a built-in bubble maker – led a strong contingent of athletes to the red carpet,

From there, the stars kept coming. Rock royalty Madonna, Cher and Stevie Nicks joined music's new generation of stars in Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat and Tyla. Rihanna and A$ap Rocky were hours late, as per usual, making a grand entrance. Bad Bunny, who is having a blockbuster 2026 with major Grammy US actress Anne Hathaway in Michael Kors (hand-painted by Peter McGough).

Chinese singer Ningning in Gucci.

wins and the Super Bowl halftime show under his belt, wore prosthetics and a white wig to explore how he would look as an old man, according to Vogue . Rapper Doja Cat, one of several members of a gala “host committee”, wore a draped latex Saint Laurent gown with a demure neckline, but slit up to her waist.